It's early evening, a time when many in Beverly Hills probably are ready for a hot tub or a sensory deprivation chamber. But not the 35 or so people in a meeting room of the Ramada Hotel on Beverly Boulevard.
Nope, these folks are on their feet, ready to pound out a few hard, hilly miles on the road to self-improvement.
"MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB," the group shouts in unison, following instructor Evelyn Schlaphoff's energetic urging to belt out the nursery rhyme.
"ITS FLEECE WAS WHITE AS SNOW," they roar, producing a blast wave that could stampede elephants, not to mention sheep.
"AND EVERYWHERE THAT MARY WENT, THE LAMB WAS SURE TO GO."
No slouch at reciting Mother Goose with feeling, Schlaphoff nods and smiles approval, signaling the night is off to the right, upbeat start.
So begins another session of an American--and global--institution, the Dale Carnegie course on public speaking and personal relations, a granddaddy of self-help that numbers its graduates in the millions and maps its influence from corporate suites to political power centers.
Calculatedly corny and cunningly folksy, the Dale Carnegie philosophy continues to march vigorously on nearly 40 years after the death of its founder and namesake, a Missouri farm boy who went to the Big Apple and discovered gold in boosting self-esteem and teaching all comers how to smile, smile, smile.
As much a movement as a business, Carnegie's prescriptions for re-engineering human souls are said to have mellowed out Mikhail Gorbachev and paved the way for Stew Leonard's, the world's largest dairy store, to annually sell 47 miles worth of chickens and other poultry. (The Connecticut store also unloads 10 tons of salad and 250,000 chocolate chip cookies a week.)
With results like that, criticism is rare and hearty endorsements are easy to come by. For instance, actor and poet Macdonald Carey says Carnegie has been "an inestimable help in my life . . . I love the course. I took it twice. I took it while I was drinking. I took it when I was sober." The second time around stuck better, he jokes.
Today a privately owned multinational company with headquarters in Garden City, N.Y., Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc., has outlasted countless fads in bootstrap betterment, from one-minute managing to Marxist self-criticism. In fact, Carnegie has evolved from its bread-and-butter training in effective communication and people skills to an all-purpose Mr. Fixit for businesses and individuals, offering courses in sales, management, customer relations, "executive image awareness," and employee development.
